The Line Between Living and Dying

Facility 27

Dani sat behind a bush in front of a fence encircling Facility twenty-seven. She had somehow managed to get there before Barry and decided to wait in hiding for him to show up.

Fortunately, Dani didn't have to wait long because a streak of lightning whipped past her. When it disappeared, two men stood just feet ahead, their backs facing Dani.

"Oh. This place definitely doesn't look too shady." Barry spoke sarcastically.

"It's Eiling. What'd you expect?" Dani got up, joining Barry and Ronnie.

Barry shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Stein's inside," Ronnie stated. "I can feel our connection growing stronger like he's pulling me."

"It's as I feared-- the Firestorm matrix is building toward a proximity reemergence." Dr. Wells said in the comms. "Like all matter, it yearns to be whole." He paused. "If you do merge... we might not be able to separate you again."

"Are you sure about this?" Dani turned to Ronnie.

He was quiet for a few moments before finally speaking up. "Eiling has a gun to Stein's head. He's about to pull the trigger."

Before Dani could even think about saving Stein, Barry was off. He raced into the facility, grabbed Martin, and ran back out to Ronnie and Dani.

"Oh!" Martin was taken aback by the speedy trip. "Whoa-- I never thought I'd be happy to see you." He said to Ronnie.

"Yeah, likewise." Ronnie agreed.

"Let's get out of here," Dani said.

But Eiling had other ideas.

A military truck pulled up. A soldier popped up through the roof, holding a missile launcher. He fired at the group.

Dani put up a shield to protect everyone, but Barry ran toward the missile. He jumped into the air and the moment his fingers came into contact with it, the missile exploded. A burning substance covered his suit.

"Run!" Barry yelled.

Dani turned to a hesitant Ronnie and Martin. "You heard him-- go!"

"Okay-- come on, come on." Ronnie snapped out of it first, dragging Martin away with him.

"Are you okay?" Dani called to Barry.

"I don't know!" Barry shouted.

"Barry, I'm picking up some serious pH numbers on your suit," Cisco said through comms.

"They hit me with some kind of chemical."

"It's a weaponized phosphorous," Cisco informed. "Water or foam won't extinguish it."

"But you can't burn in a vacuum, so you need to create one." Wells thought aloud. "Run, Barry. Run!"

Dani watched as Barry sped off into the nearby field and start running in circles. Cisco and Wells had only talked into Barry's earpiece, so Dani was clueless as to what he was doing now.

"Dani." Cheyanne gained the brunette's attention. "Barry's out of commission until he can stop burning. You're on your own right now."

"Thanks for the update," Dani responded. She blasted the military car and went on her way looking for Martin and Ronnie.

Dani had only been searching for the two halves of Firestorm for a couple of minutes when a gun was cocked behind her. She turned around, coming face to face with General Eiling.

"Move, Eiling," Dani demanded.

"No can do." Eiling refused. "Firestorm is mine."

"They're two people. You don't have any claim on them."